Selective Reporting of Upstream Transaction Trace Data

1. A machine implemented method for monitoring transactions, comprising the steps of: monitoring a transaction that is executed by a first application, the monitoring performed by a first software entity at a first computing device; generating performance data that relates to execution of the transaction by the first application, the performance data is generated by the first software entity based on monitoring the transaction; monitoring, by a second software entity, the transaction while the transaction is being executed by a second application, the transaction is executed by the second application based on a request from the first application, the second software entity resides on the same or a different computing device as the first software entity; determining that the first software entity should report the performance data, the determining is based on the monitoring performed by the second software entity; propagating data that indicates that the first software entity should report the performance data, the data is propagated based on determining that the first software entity should report the performance data; and reporting the performance data to a third software entity that executes on a second computing device, the performance data is reported to the third software entity by the first software entity in response to the first software entity receiving the propagated data.

2. A machine implemented method for monitoring transactions as recited in claim 1 , wherein the step of propagating data includes adding a token in a response from the second application to the first application, the token indicates that the first software entity should report the performance data, the response from the second application is a response to the request from the first application.

3. A machine implemented method for monitoring transactions as recited in claim 1 , further comprising the step of: setting a flag that indicates that the first software entity should report the performance data, the flag is set by the first software entity based on analyzing the propagated data; and determining that the performance data should be reported to the third software entity based on the flag being set.

4. A machine implemented method for monitoring transactions as recited in claim 1 , wherein the step of propagating data includes propagating data on an existing communication connection.

5. A machine implemented method as recited in claim 4 , wherein the step of propagating data on an existing communication connection includes: propagating first data on a first communication connection between the second software entity and the third software entity, the first data indicates that the first software entity should report the performance data, the first communication connection exists prior to determining that the first software entity should report the performance data.

6. A machine implemented method as recited in claim 5 , further comprising the step of: propagating second data on a second communication connection between the first software entity and the second software entity, the second data indicates that the first application should report the performance data, the second communication connection exists prior to determining that the first software entity should report the performance data.

7. A machine implemented method as recited in claim 4 , wherein the step of propagating data on an existing communication connection includes: propagating data on a communication connection between the first application and the second application that exists prior to determining that the first software entity should report the performance data.

8. A machine implemented method as recited in claim 1 , wherein if the first software entity fails to receive the propagated data the first software entity discards the performance data without reporting the performance data to the third software entity.

9. A machine implemented method as recited in claim 1 , further comprising propagating data, based on the monitoring performed by the second software entity, that indicates that the first software entity should collect and report data other than the performance data to the third software entity.

10. A system for monitoring software, comprising: a first computing device that includes first monitoring software that monitors execution of a transaction by a first application on the first computing device, the first monitoring software generates performance data that relates to execution of the transaction by the first application; a second computing device that includes second monitoring software that monitors execution of the transaction by a second application on the second computing device, the transaction is executed by the second application in response to a request from the first application to execute the transaction, and a third computing device that includes third monitoring software, the third monitoring software has a communication connection with the first monitoring software; the second monitoring software determines that the first monitoring software should report the performance data to the third monitoring software based on monitoring the execution of the transaction by the second application, the second monitoring software propagates data that indicates that the first monitoring software should report the performance data, the data is propagated based on determining that the first monitoring software should report the performance data; and the first monitoring software reports the performance data to the third monitoring software over the communication connection in response to receiving the propagated data.

11. A system for monitoring software as recited in claim 10 , wherein the second monitoring software propagating data includes the second monitoring software adding a token in a response from the second application to the first application, the token indicates that the first monitoring software should report the performance data to the third monitoring software, the response is to the request from the first application to the second application to execute the transaction.

12. A system for monitoring software as recited in claim 11 , wherein the communication connection is a first communication connection, and the second monitoring software has a second communication connection with the third monitoring software, the second communication connection is in existence prior to determining that the first monitoring software should report the performance data, the second monitoring software propagates first data to the third monitoring software on the second communication connection that indicates that the first monitoring software should report data the performance data to the third monitoring software.

13. A system for monitoring software as recited in claim 12 , wherein the first communication connection is in existence prior to determining that the first monitoring software should report the performance data, the third monitoring software propagates second data on the first communication connection to the first monitoring software that indicates that the first monitoring software should report the performance data.

14. A system for monitoring software as recited in claim 10 , wherein the communication connection between the first monitoring software and the third monitoring software is a first communication connection, the first application has a second communication connection with the second application, the second monitoring software propagates the data using the second communication connection.

15. One or more processor readable storage devices having processor readable code embodied on the processor readable storage device, the processor readable code which when executed on one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform a method comprising the steps of: monitoring execution of a transaction by a first application, the monitoring execution being performed by a first portion of the processor readable code at a first computing device; generating performance data that relates to execution of the transaction by the first application, the first portion of the processor readable code generates the performance data based on monitoring execution of the transaction by the first application; monitoring execution of the transaction by a second application, the monitoring execution of the transaction by a second portion of the processor readable code, the transaction is executed by the second application based on a request from the first application; determining that the first portion of the processor readable code should report the performance data to a second computing device, the determining is based on the monitoring performed by the second portion of the processor readable code; including a token in a response from the second application to the first application that indicates that the first portion of the processor readable code should report the performance data, the response is to a request from the first application to the second application to process the transaction; and reporting the performance data in response to receiving the propagated data, the first portion of the processor readable code reports the performance data to the second computing device.

16. The one or more processor readable storage devices of claim 15 , wherein the processor readable code further contains code which, when executed on the one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform the further step of: discarding the performance data without reporting the performance data to the second computing device if the propagated data is not received by the first portion of the processor readable code.

17. A machine implemented method for monitoring transactions, comprising the steps of: monitoring execution of a transaction by a first application, the monitoring being performed by a first software entity executing on a first computing device; generating performance data based on monitoring the execution of the transaction; parsing a response from a second application to the first application to determine whether the response indicates that the first software entity should report the performance data to a second software entity on a second computing device, the response is to a request from the first application to the second application to process the transaction; reporting the performance data to the second software entity on the second computing device if the response indicates that the first software entity should report the performance data; and determining that the performance data should not be reported to the second software entity based at least in part on determining that the response does not indicate that the first software entity should report the performance data.

18. A machine implemented method for monitoring transactions of claim 17 , further comprising: determining whether execution of the transaction by the first application meets a criterion for reporting the performance data to the second software entity; and reporting the performance data to the second software entity if the criterion is satisfied.

19. A machine implemented method for monitoring transactions of claim 18 , further comprising: discarding the performance data without reporting the performance data to the second software entity if the criterion is not satisfied and if the response does not indicate that the first software entity should report the performance data to the second software entity.

20. A processor readable storage device having processor readable code embodied on the processor readable storage device, the processor readable code which when executed on a processor causes the processor to perform a method comprising the steps of: monitoring execution of a transaction by a first application, the monitoring is performed by the processor readable code executing on the processor on a first computing device; generating performance data based on monitoring the execution of the transaction; parsing a response from a second application to the first application to determine whether the response contains a token that indicates that the processor readable code should report performance data regarding execution of the transaction by the first application to a second computing device, the response is to a request from the first application to the second application to process the transaction; reporting the performance data to the second computing device entity if the response contains the token; and determining that the performance data should not be reported to the second computing device based at least in part on determining that the response does not contain the token.